Western U.S.A
The West Coast and pretty much Western United States all holds a special place in my heart. From the peaks in Wyoming to Montana’s glacier lakes; from the misty Washington cities and the mystical Oregon coast to California’s infamous beaches. The West Coast boasts a plethora of iconic, amazing, beautiful and fun things to do, see and experience.
Washington was the first state I crossed into the United States from my fall stint working in Vancouver Canada. I remember that week quite clearly, I was working a seasonal job at a cranberry packaging factory waiting out the border closure between both countries. Fall spent in RAINcouver was wet and gloomy with some glimmers of beautiful sun; enough to keep me going but not enough to make me stay. Sufficed to say, I was anxious to leave and ready to depart to start my van-life in the United States. When news of the border opening reached me, I spared no time to leave my seasonal job and headed south, hoping for some sun and a change of scenery.
I am not surprised to say but Washington had very similar weather to mainland Vancouver; it was wet, gloomy, cloudy, cold and overcast. Even through all of this, I was still happy to keep making my way south as I felt I was making progress to sunny shores; albeit little by little day by day. Seattle is a great city but a place I would personally not live in. I slept on the side streets on the hills of the surrounding suburbs and took the metro train lines in. The public transit system here weren’t something to write home about but still enough to get me by; I was able to meander around downtown, visit University of Washington and it got me from point A to point B with a little walking around. I would recommend taking the different lines to see the many sights Seattle has to offer. It did feel a little unsafe in some parts of downtown so make sure to be cautious in some areas. Pykes market place is a great place to visit, with a great atmosphere, it is very close to other attractions and offers some great sea food. The Space Needle is iconic and is hard to miss. Their downtown library also offer some great services.
I was too much in a rush to head south that I definitely missed out on some of Washington’s iconic places to visit; places like the Olympic National park and the surrounding area, Snoqualmie and its amazing waterfalls, Colchuck Lake and the surrounding mountain peaks and many more. The winter cold was starting to set in and I was on a mission south. However, just south of Seattle is an area I did not want to miss. Mount Rainier towering figure can be seen from the valleys miles away. After an altercation at a Tacoma Walmart parking lot at 3 am where I slept, I decided to go see Mount Rainier. Even from miles away, I could see Mount Rainier’s peak tower above the clouds. The base of the National park is a 45 minute drive away to its highest parking lot; with many cool side-stops on the way up. I would highly recommend going to one of these side stops as I and many others had to in this late-fall morning due to the road up to the top being closed off due to some road clearing work. Though not at the highest, one could still see the ancient nature Mount Rainier offers at one of the side stops. Here the trees are covered in moss generations older than many of us, the birds dance and bathe in the first hours of the morning sun, and the rivers hum into the quiet sleepy lakes.
California spirit is alive and well; though many may argue about the latter. I spent a month in California and time flew by so quick. With my late-fall entry into the rugged Mendocino northern coast, to my sweater weather early-winter in the bay area, to the balmy palmy mid-winter in the southern coast, and to the frigid Californian deserts in the late-winter, time felt like photographs in a flip book; but the book too thin and the photos too few. All of a sudden I was heading east out of the state and all of it seemed a blur.
Check out my dedicated gallery to the California Spirit here
Oregon has a special place in my heart. Oregon is the one that got away; the one who you were perfect with but timing just did not work out; that one unexpected love that burnt so brightly but died just as quickly as it started. Alright, that seems a tad melodramatic but I truly loved my time in Oregon. Though brief and quick, my visit there has left me with an awe for its lush green ancient rainforests and its broody, mystical, and rugged coastlines that will always be remembered.
I had only spent a week and a half in Oregon but it felt as though I have spent countless years of my past lives wandering its shores. Passing through Portland, I made a bee-line towards the west; I had heard the Oregon coast is legendary. I was first met with the astounding sheer size of the rocks protruding out of Cannon Beach. My first sight of these rocks had me in disbelief. I could not believe my eyes and had to take many second looks as I was driving. They felt out of this world. Better yet, was the walk on the beach and being able to see the rocks closer.
Its quite a popular spot, there will be crowds, some horses even. There are many free parking spaces around but also plenty of paid ones. Take note of any parking signs around.
The Oregon Coast is also a ripe area for surfing; here you can enjoy paddling out into frigid waters in skin tight wet suits. Short Sand Beach was my favorite spot. I was recommended to go here from a surf shop in town. They told me about a cove protected by the gusting winds and unbearable currents. What they did not tell me was that this beach could not be reached by car. Instead, t here is a huge parking lot at the side of the highway where you can park, gather your stuff, and start at the trail head. The walk itself is around 10 to 15 minutes to the beach from the lot. It might sound like a pain, but this walk was nothing but pleasure. You’re immediately transported into a new world away from the concrete highway. A new world where old redwoods and ancient trees populate the horizon; a new world where moss carpets every direction from up to the trees, to the sides of the boulders and all the way down to the floor. Even the moss has moss growing on it. Making your way down to the beach you follow the trickling sounds of the numerous rivers from the rainforest making its way to the ocean. As you reach the end of the trail and at the start of the beach, you see a wide opening of golden sand in a forest-laden cove. The wind is gentle. The cold waves break at your feet. The rivers make their marks on the sand. A water fall on a side of a cliff. The sun sits perfectly on the horizon. A quiet peace rules this place.
This first glimpse of the rugged raw beauty in the Oregon Coast was just the start. I spent the next week heading down south, visiting and sleeping by the blue beaches with golden sand surrounded by a deep green old growth. With each place being just as beautiful and unique as the next, the Oregon Coast will be forever etched in my heart. I hope to see you again in this lifetime but somehow I am sure I will always find my way here in the next.
Montana
Helena is a surprisingly nice stop from the Grand Tetons heading north. The core of Montana’s capital city is a mix of classic vintage streets and architecture hailing from its wild wild west roots. Its definitely on the quieter side but here you will find life to be going on a slower pace; a pace only few get to experience in life.
Glacier National Park was my last stop before entering back into Alberta, Canada home of the Canadian Rockies. I had previously visited Alberta two summers already and I was missing it dearly. Glacier National Park was the first place I visited that spring that really took me back to my travels through the Canadian Rockies. It had all the grand peaks, the cool blue lakes and the great grizzlies. It felt like home.
I had decided to go to the “Going to the sun” road as my aunt had previously mentioned wanting to go there. It was still early spring; the sun was out beating heat into everything but the air was too cold. The glacier-fed lakes still freezing to the touch and the mountain peaks still had snow. The visitor center was closed and I knew I came too early. Too early to hike the peaks as the trails further up still had knee-deep thawing soft snow. Too early to enjoy a dip in the cold lakes and bask in the summers heat. Too early to go exploring in Glacier National Park.
In fact, a big portion of the road was actually open; open to hikers that is. It was closed to vehicles but you could park your car further down and walk the rest of the way up. Cutting my losses, I decided to do exactly this. I parked my car, put on my hiking gear and started putting my miles in on the concrete. The walk up was amazing. The views of the Saint Mary Lake and the surrounding peaks stoked me up for my goals of summitting mountains the upcoming summer. Seeing all the snow capped mountains filled me with excitement of my next adventures. My next peaks. My next campfires. My new views. My new encounters with wild-life.
Not even half a kilometer into my walk up the asphalt, I started hearing some buzz from my fellow hikers both going up and down the road. There was a big talk about a grizzly bear just up the “trail”. I had never seen a grizzly bear up close before and I was excited to take this off my bucket list. Now distracted with the hopes of seeing one for the first time, the views of the lakes and the peaks quickly disappeared in my mind; I HAD to see this thing.
Another half a kilometer and I could see a small crowd of hikers grouped up. They were stopped and looking at something. Taking pictures. Following where their cameras were pointed, I saw the big brown fuzzy celebrity that everyone in town was talking about. It was still very far from us and I made sure to keep my distance as it foraged for food in this early spring. I’m sure the bear was starving and I did not want to be its next meal.
About five minutes of watching it frolic and eat in the grass, the novelty faded. I was now satisfied with my first grizzly sighting and keen to get going into my hike. But there was one big problem: the hungry grizzly bear was right in the middle of my path. There was no going around; to my left is a concrete vertical wall with a drop to the freezing lake and to my right is a dense forest with no marked trails. The stranded hikers with me were keen to move forward. My impatience was getting to me and I started inching my way towards the bear. I’m not sure what my plan was exactly. Maybe I had hoped that getting closer to the bear would scare it away, thus clearing the path. Maybe if I had walked nonchalantly with all the confidence in the world and pretended he was not there he’d let me slip by. Maybe he can’t smell my fear. I’m not really known for my clear plans.
Even though big portions of the park was still closed, luckily the park rangers nearby were around. A man came in to the scene and saw a group of timid hikers slowly inching their way towards a starving grizzly that just woke up from its hibernation. It must have looked like a pack of gazelle heading straight into the lions den. He must have thought we were crazy.
He waved us down frantically shouting at us to stop whatever madness we were doing. He was closing the road for our safety. He had a pick-up truck and he gave us a ride down to the parking lot. He saved a group of silly hikers keen to hit the trails from a potential terrible incident.
Wyoming
I headed to Devils Tower right after my stay in the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota. After seeing the Mount Rushmore monument and the under-construction Crazy Horse memorial statue, my “big great rocks monuments” itch was itched thoroughly. Seeing these huge statues absolutely blew my mind away and I could not imagine all the work that went into sculpting these iconic land marks. All the time and human years spent chipping away the rock.
But Devils Tower is the same but so different at the same time. It sticks out of the land scape the same. It is amazing in size the same. It is gorgeous the same. But the sculptor is different. Nature somehow found a way to protrude this great, rare igneous rock out of the land. It stands tall and proud. Its shape and form so unique. Great big stone columns joins together to build what looks like a giant stone tree stump from afar. Its not to be missed if a traveller is in the area.
Climbing Devils Tower is also a popular and sought out activity in the area. I didn’t personally go for it but I noticed a bunch of climbers attempting it on the day I was there. If you are planning on visiting and are an avid climber, make sure you do some research and don’t miss out on this opportunity!
Yellowstone National Park was on top of my National-Parks-To-Visit list and for good reasons. It is the oldest and first national park in the world. Its vast area spans mostly in the state of Wyoming but also borders near Montana and Idaho. It boasts great numbers of wild life and a great variety of natural landscapes; from meadows to hills, from the valleys to mountain summits, from natural geysers to acidic rainbow ponds, from the quiet still lakes to the great rapid rushing sounds of large waterfalls, Yellowstone has it all.
Lets all be clear here: Yellowstone’s size is nothing to scoff at. It took me 3 whole days to truly and fairly do the whole loop starting from the East in Wapiti Wyoming, to the north near Mt. Washburn, to the west in West Yellowstone, Idaho and finally to the south in Jackson lake. I felt like I barely skimmed the top of the iceberg with this one as well. I felt like I even rushed it. Yellowstone is a national park worth at the very least a week to get a faint idea of what it truly offers. What I did see there was nothing short of amazing. I was very impressed by the large variety of landscapes folding in front of me. From rivers, to lakes, to ponds, to geysers, to meadows, to mountains, to valleys, to wildlife and to everything else in between.
The Highlights : “The Grand Canyon of The Yellowstone” is definitely a must-visit. Its truly awe-inspiring to follow the canyon at the start of the falls where you can see the water up close in its ear-deafening entirety. Then you can head out to the viewpoint either with a vehicle or a nice hike through marked trails and in the woods; nevertheless you arrive at an amazing viewpoint. Whereas at the start you only get a view of the water falling, at the viewpoint you get the whole picture. You can see the canyons and the many different layers that make up the rocks. You can see the depth that the river from the waterfalls has cut through the eons. You can see the many trees and beautiful fauna and nature all bordering the canyon. And lastly, you can see the main subject of the painting; the great waterfalls of Yellowstone.
The Wildlife is also another great highlight in the national park. Before Yellowstone I had thought bison are rare and few. I had thought I would never get anywhere near one. Visiting this great national park definitely proved me otherwise. Not only are the bison plentiful, but they are everywhere! From every corner of the national park, bison herds and families are a common sight. They also don’t mind hanging out relatively close to people; it almost feels like we are guests in their house and they simply allow us to visit.
There are also many different ducks, fishes, deer, wolves, and many more wildlife to be found in Yellowstone.
The Geothermal activity in the national park is also a great highlight. The spots and locations are so common and can be found in every section and it is truly wonderful to drive through the roads in one of the valleys ripe full of geothermal activity. As you head down the road, the view opens up to numerous ponds and lakes bellowing steam into the sky. It feels like you’ve entered nature’s industrial cauldron factory.
Geysers are also commonly found throughout the park. The Old Faithful is the most popular one with seating all around and approximate times for its eruptions. However, there are also many different ones; all ranging from different sizes, different locations, and different eruptions.
Take the time to explore the lesser travelled ponds or go to one of the main ones. Either way, you will find geothermally active ponds and lakes. It is however a hit or miss, as some truly glows with beautiful colors from all over the spectrum while bordered with serene moss or algae but some are just mere bubbles out of the ground or bland green.
The Lowlights: Despite its size, Yellowstone‘s reputation precedes it. In some areas, there are hardly any people. If you are checking out the main stops, there are droves of hundreds of people there with you. The parking lots full. The roads busy. The viewing seats occupied. The walking platforms with no space. Simply put, it can get very crowded there and in my personal experience, I went in the early spring AND it still felt very full.
Herds of tourists in the nature’s wilderness is always recipe for disaster. There is usually a story that make the news about animal encounters where a tourist got too close. Stories about accidents that cause bodily harm and burns. There are plenty of signs warning the readers of the dangers but accidents do happen.
Here is a website with some accounts of accidents and deaths occurring at the park
The popularity of Yellowstone has also unfortunately left some of the more crowded areas littered. There are trash cans around but it still makes its way out onto the ground or the pools. I have seen clothing such as ball caps, socks, sandals and more being blown away or left to rot.
Grand Teton National Park
My next stop after Yellowstone was naturally heading south to the Grand Tetons. I had previously saw some images of the skyline here and I knew I had to come to see it; it also helps that its so close to Yellowstone. This National Park is nothing short of breathtaking. The jagged peaks reminds me of similar mountain ranges deep in the Rockies. However, what sets The Grand Tetons apart is the vast valleys and lakes right next to it. Somehow, as it formed, the areas to the east right next to the mountains is very fairly relatively flat. There aren’t any smaller hills to cover the view. Smaller lesser peaks to ease your eyes on to the main giants. It just kind of pops out of the ground. Its a surreal feeling as you may feel with your feet like you’re in the prairies but you’re seeing magnificent jagged summits. It makes one feel extra small. The mountains extra grand.
Visiting this place in the early spring was also a blessing in disguise. There were so many moose in pasture it almost felt like a farm. I must have seen a dozen and a half moose just in my two day visit. I saw three alone in my hike to see a waterfalls and the views of the peaks from below.
My short stay here left me wanting more. I merely did not stay long enough. Unfortunately, it was cold and a snow storm was setting in the area so I decided to leave early but I will always hold some room in my heart for a revisit of the Grand Tetons.
Travellers Pursuits 